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Colorado school finance initiative hits snag on way to the ballot

Damion Leenatali, a volunteer with Colorado Commits to Kids, carries a box loaded with signatures into the office of the Colorado State Secretary at 1700 Broadway in Denver on August 5, 2013. (Helen H. Richardson, Denver Post file)

The initiative that would revamp Colorado's school finance system and implement a $950 million tax increase hit a snag Friday, as the secretary of state's office announced it will examine the petitions line by line to determine whether the measure makes the November ballot.

Colorado Commits to Kids, the organization behind the campaign for the school finance initiative, turned in more than 165,000 signatures Aug. 5 — roughly double the number required.

But Secretary of State Scott Gessler said that the signature verification of a random 5 percent sample of the petitions fell into a range that triggers a line-by-line examination.

Proponents needed the sample to show a verification rate that would project to at least 110 percent of the required 86,105 valid signatures in order for the initiative to move directly to the ballot. The sample showed the presumed valid signatures to be 107.88 percent.

Even though the analysis projected 92,892 valid signatures — more than would be required — it wasn't enough to avoid the line-by-line review. Gessler's office has until Sept. 4 to complete its review.

Supporters of the measure, who officially kicked off their campaign earlier this week, expressed confidence that their efforts remain on track.

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"We're happy for the secretary of state to take as much time as he needs," said state Sen. Mike Johnston, D-Denver, whose legislation built the school finance framework the initiative would trigger. "We've both vetted them all and screened them. Whether the secretary found a surprisingly unrepresentative sample or not, we're not worried about it. We know we'll have the signatures. It doesn't change at all our work on the campaign over the next 80 days."

Initiative 22 seeks approval of a new, two-tiered state income tax system that would raise money to fund programs such as expanded full-day kindergarten and half-day preschool, as well as provide more resources for at-risk students and English-language learners. It would also change the way the state doles out money to individual districts.

Colorado's current flat rate income tax of 4.63 percent would shift to a system in which the first $75,000 of income would be taxed at 5 percent, with income over that amount taxed at 5.9 percent.

"This isn't going to inhibit us one bit," said Gail Klapper of the Colorado Forum, one of the major backers of the effort. "We're feeling this is a nonissue."

Opponents of the initiative say that the measure is an "outsized tax increase" lacking transparency and reform. They also criticized supporters of the initiative for using an out-of-state company to collect the signatures.

"The need for review is a huge indictment on the claimed momentum of their campaign," said Kelly Maher, executive director of Compass Colorado, which opposes Initiative 22. "The people of Colorado do not want and cannot afford a billion-dollar tax increase at a time when our recovery is fragile."